Chem. J. Chinese Universities ›› 2023, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (5): 20220732.doi: 10.7503/cjcu20220732

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Recent Progress on Strategies for Electrochemical Hydrogen Production Coupling with Oxidation of Inorganic Chemicals

YAN Dafeng1(), XIE Chao2, CHEN Chen3   

  1. 1.College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,Hubei University,Wuhan 430062,China
    2.College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,Hunan Normal University,Changsha 410081,China
    3.College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,Hunan University,Changsha 410082,China
  • Received:2022-11-25 Online:2023-05-10 Published:2023-01-03
  • Contact: YAN Dafeng E-mail:dafengyan@hnu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22202065)

Abstract:

Electrochemical water splitting to produce H2 has drawn much attention for inherent advantages. However, the sluggish reaction kinetics of anodic oxygen evolution reaction(OER) and high energy consumption greatly limited its application. In contrast to OER, the electrooxidation of some inorganic chemicals is more thermo-dynamically and kinetically favorable. Therefore, coupling hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) with inorganic alternatives oxidization shows great potential to enhance the efficiency of H2 production. It can obviously lower the anodic overpotential compared with OER. Simultaneously, some pollutants can be removed or some valuable chemicals can be produced on the anode. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress on the strategy of H2 production coupling with the electrooxidation of inorganic chemicals. Firstly, some representative inorganic alternatives are introduced and discussed, including nitrogenous N2H4 and NO and sulfureted H2S and SO2, which can assist to produce H2 at very low cell voltage and radically avoid the generation of O2. And then introducing electrochemical neutralization energy to further decrease the cell voltage of electrochemical H2 production or even achieve H2 production together with electricity output are further discussed. Finally, the remaining challenges and perspectives are also provided for future development.

Key words: Hydrogen production, Inorganic alternative, Energy-saving, Electricity generation

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